Gibson Tone Tips: Wood Resonance – The Secret to Superlative Tone

October 27, 2011 By rgguitar 2 Comments

Gibson Tone Tips: Wood Resonance – The Secret to Superlative Tone

Dave Hunter

10.22.2011

Have you ever tried going for a particular sound, but weren’t able to get your tone quite right? Allow us to lend a hand. Gibson Tone Tips can help you achieve the guitar sound of your dreams. In this installment, we’re shining the spotlight on wood resonance.

A lot of ingredients work together to form the precious tone that issues forth from your electric guitar, but however much time and consideration you have put into pickup and hardware selection, the way in which the wood components resonate together remains the make-or-break factor that determines the voice of your instrument. We examined tone woods in general in one of my earlier Tone Tips, It All Starts with the Wood, but this time I want to offer a few pointers to help you pinpoint the guitars that are really happening resonance-wise.

The first step in determining whether or not a guitar has got it together in tonal terms is to give it a thorough acoustic check-up. I’m talking purely electric solidbody or semi-solidbody here, but of course if you play any guitar unamplified it will perform as an acoustic instrument, and the extent to which it excels or falls flat in this effort will tell you a lot about how it will sound plugged in and cranked up, too. This is all really a matter of learning how to assess the structural and resonant virtue of an instrument; you can try it with guitars you already own, or apply these techniques when you are shopping for that important new instrument.

Weight plays a part in this equation, but is generally secondary to the virtue of the build and whether the wood itself—whether on the heavy side or the light—is working with the resonance and harmonics of the guitar, or against them. A well-built example of a well-designed guitar should live up to its potential as an instrument. Some slightly inferior examples of otherwise great, even legendary, guitars do occasionally see the light of day, of course, and this isn’t always the result of any great “mistake” that was made in the manufacturing process. Sometimes a piece of wood just doesn’t want to be a guitar … it wants to be a park bench. When that occurs, you find that the acoustic tones of body and neck fight each other and just don’t vibrate in harmony, or the guitar simply throws out less-than-flattering peaks, nulls, and dead spots that hinder the acoustic voice of the instrument, and as a result, it’s plugged-in performance. Let’s take a look at some methods of discerning an electric guitar’s acoustic performance.

First, put guitar X on your lap in playing position, strum a first-position chord, and feel the tip of the headstock with your right hand while still holding that chord with your left (reverse these if you’re a lefty). You should feel a significant amount of vibration there, almost a surprising amount of movement in some cases (note that set-neck guitars exhibit a bit less of this by nature, and set-neck semi-acoustics a little less still; this doesn’t indicate a lack of toneful resonance, but is just characteristic of the breed, so you need to assess like against like, as far as overall resonance is concerned). Now, strum again and feel the strap button at the lower end of the body, and also the treble-side lower bout (the edge of the guitars near the controls). These regions should vibrate too, a little less than the tip of the headstock perhaps, but you should feel something there. Next, pluck just the open G string and check these same locations: on the really resonant guitars, you should still feel some action there. Put your ear to the bass-side upper bout (the upper “horn” or shoulder of the guitar) and play a little. You should hear a full, round, even voice, which might even be surprisingly loud on a really toneful guitar. It should be rich, deep, and woody. Ideally, you shouldn’t hear anything that’s too boomy, or too choked and spiky, or harsh in its treble response.

Finally, just play the guitar in a range of styles, all up and down the neck, and listen normally. It might not be real loud, but should be full and even and lively—and in some cases, might be louder than you’d think for a solidbody electric, when you give it your full attention. Play both chords and single notes and hold them, and listen to how long the guitar sustains, and whether the decay has a pleasing character. Does it sound good to you and make you want to play? Does it represent a quieter version of the kind of tonality that you’d like to have at the core of your sound when amplified? If so, you could be onto a winner. On the other hand, if it sounds dead, dull, uneven, or as if different harmonic elements in the acoustic resonance are fighting themselves, you might want to pass it by and pick up the next example. Once you locate a guitar that is really happening acoustically, you can almost always achieve what you want in amplified tone with the right set of pickups. If the wood resonance is fighting you, however, the best set of pickups on the planet won’t correct the ills that are coming out of the heart of the instrument.

First-call LA session guitarist Carl Verheyen passed one of his own guitar-buying tips along to me when we were working together. Carl said that when he approaches an instrument hanging on the wall in a guitar store, he plucks just the B string, then grabs the lower treble bout of the guitar (around the region of the jack socket) to feel if there’s any vibration there at all. If there is, he takes it down and plays it further. If there isn’t, he passes it up. Experiment with playing acoustically as many electric guitars as you can get your hands on, put some thought into wood resonance, and see what you discover. It’s the first step toward nailing the really great tone machines out there.

Filed Under: Electric Guitars Tagged With: Electric, Gibson, Guitars, Music, Musician, Tone

Vintage Guitars – Look to the Past

October 6, 2011 By rgguitar 3 Comments

The guitar is one of the most versatile instruments in the world, and they become more flexible as manufacturing techniques improve and new design ideas are incorporated. So why is it that so many experienced guitar players desire to own a vintage guitar? Surely, a new, modern guitar would be best? This is simply not so, and below we will explore why.

First and foremost, like good wine, a quality guitar can mature with age. Overall, the tone of the guitar will usually mellow, as the wood the instrument is constructed from continues to harden over time.

Scarcity is also a big factor when deciding if a guitar should be considered vintage or not. Certain manufacturers such as Martin, were famed for producing very short production runs of individual designs. As certain designs were found to age very well, the scarcity of the actual units produced made them instantly vintage.

For some models, such as the famed Les Paul Gold Top, it is the actual finish of the guitar, which makes them desirable.

This particular model used bronze as part of the dye to turn the top of the guitar golden in color, and with age, the bronze content takes on a greenish tint.

For other models, such as the Fender Stratocaster, the vintage models date back to a certain era of the corporation which manufactured them, back to a time when manufacturing and quality control processes were deemed to be far better, this produces a superior instrument.

Lastly, we have short run, often termed “signature” guitars. These are often endorsed by a well-known musician, and will incorporate design concepts upon the advice of said musician. Fender in particular is noted for the number of signature series guitars they produce, and although not all of these can currently be considered vintage models, there is no doubt that they will eventually be seen as such.

An offshoot of the whole vintage guitar scene is that of vintage amplification. Certain amplifiers, such as the VOX AC30, and the Fender Bluesbreaker, along with many of the older Marshal amplifier heads and speaker cabinets, are noted for their particularly rich sound reproduction capabilities. Almost always, these amplifiers will use older tube-based circuitry, which give a much warmer sound. Although some of the early MOSFET amplifiers are also become desirable.

Many vintage guitars are to be found in the hands of collectors; quite often, these owners will not even be capable of playing the instrument with any great expertise. Instead, they take pleasure from owning a little piece of music history in the form of the instruments which produced all of those classic sounds which we still hear today.

Vintage guitars not only offer the musician a better playing experience, they also allow the owner to take loving care of a piece of history. Many of the vintage instruments we see today, have been entirely restored, at great expense, to make them look, sound and play as close to the original manufacturing specification as possible.

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Filed Under: Vintage Guitars Tagged With: Guitars, Look, Past, Vintage

Buying Antique Vintage Gibson Guitars

October 6, 2011 By rgguitar Leave a Comment

Whether you are a musician just starting a new collection or if you are an investor or vintage gibson guitar enthusiast you will learn how to get the best deal when looking for used an rare guitars at online auction sites. Some of the various gibson guitar models can be found in acoustic, and electric. What makes buying a rare, antique gibson guitar so special is that you are buying a piece of history. What will be covered in this buying guide is where to find the perfect guitar for your collection, next how to determine if you are gettng the best price and lastly what the quality and condition has to do with the determined value.

Online auction sites such as ebay has large inventory of used and new musical instruments, before going to a online auction you want to decide what make, model, year, color and brand you want for your collection. Is the Les Paul Guitar standard or custom, or gibson jumbo this information are important because you will find many websites and antique auctions selling a variety of the same model but at different price ranges, which is depended on the year it was issued or the condition of the guitar. To determine if you are getting the best price is to first know what a vintage 1935 Gibson jumbo goes for compared to a 1908 style O acoustic archtop or 1960 EB-2 electric bass. Shop around for the best deals. if you are an investor and you buy vintage guitars to resell them the condition of the model is very important to get the highest value, some key points is to note if the guitar is original or not. Is there any modifications such as changes to the neck or body. How many were produced during the listed time period, is it a limited edition or rare and in demand. All these things is what determines the price you can buy and sell the vintage guitar for.

Other ways to have a smoother buying experience is to talk to other vintage guitar collectors and enthusiast find out what they have to say and learn from them. It is always worth it to learn from their years of experience.

Written by guitarguide

Video from the October 2007 Arlington, Texas Vintage Guitar Show. (And yes, I’m playing the guitars on the sound track.) From eddriscoll.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Fender Bass Guitars

October 6, 2011 By rgguitar 129 Comments

Fender Bass Guitars

Fender is a company that designs and manufactures bass guitars and many other stringed instruments. Fender was founded in 1946 by Leo Fender as the “Fender Electric Instrument Company.” Leo Fender sold his interest in the company in 1965, but during a span of less than twenty years he established Fender as one of the leading names for guitars and bass guitars.

Fender bass guitars can be divided into two core types: the Fender Precision Bass and the Fender Jazz Bass. The Fender Precision Bass first appeared in 1951, and was one of the first widely available electric bass guitars. The Fender Jazz Bass traces its origins to a 1960 model. The Fender Jazz Bass places less emphasis on the fundamental harmonics, and has a slightly brighter tone and more richness in the middle range.

Current Fender Bass Guitar Models

There are several models of bass guitars made by Fender. Here are some of the more common ones that you will encounter:

Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass – First sold in the USA in late 2004, this is a four-string bass guitar with two pickups, one of the P Bass variety in the mid position, and one of the Jazz Bass variety at the bridge position. This is a very light bass guitar, weighing about 7 lbs., and it has a slim neck.

Fender Jaguar Bass – A four-string bass guitar first produced in 2005. This model features a C-shaped maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, pearloid block inlays, and vintage-style chrome tuners. The Fender Jaguar Bass is one of the instruments of choice for Colin Greenwood, the bass guitar player for Radiohead, as well as several other prominent bass guitarists.

Fender Jazz Bass – One of the earliest models made by Fender, the Jazz Bass was first introduced in 1960. The Fender Jazz Bass places less emphasis on the fundamental harmonics than some other models, and has a slightly brighter tone and more richness in the middle range. Many famous bass guitarists played a Fender Jazz Bass, incluyding Stanley Clarke, John Entwistle, and Darryl Jones.

Fender Mustang Bass – First manufactured in 1966, this four-string bass guitar is one of the last models that Leo Fender worked on before his departure from the company. It has a 30 inch scale, one volume control, one tone control, and a single split pickup similar to the P Bass. Some of the famous musicians who have played a Fender Mustang Bass include Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.

Fender Precision Bass – One of the first widely available electric bass guitars, it originally appeared in 1951. There are many series of this model, and the design has been continually updated since 1951.

Fender Bass VI – This is a six-string bass guitar that was originally produced from 1961 to 1975. It was reintroduced in 2006 as a custom-shop model. The extra strings and electronics of this model make it more suited to soloists than for use in rock bands. The Fender VI is very similar to the Fender Jaguar Bass in terms of body and electronics. It was originally known as the “Fender VI,” and some bass guitarists still refer to it by this name.

Fender Zone Bass – First manufactured in 2001, the Fender Zone Bass is slightly smaller and lighter than many other models of bass guitar.
Vintage Fender Bass Guitar Models

Fender has been making bass guitars for a long time. Vintage models are either discontinued lines or were made prior to Leo Fender leaving the company in 1965. The high quality, association with famous musicians, and nostalgia assoicated with vintage Fender bass guitars continues to make them popular and often highly prized. Here are some of the more common vintage models that you will likely encounter:

Fender Bass V – A five-string bass guitar that was originally produced in 1965. The design is considered quirky, as it is about three inches longer than most P basses, but it only has 15 frets.

Fender Bullet Bass – First produced in 1982, Fender intended this bass guitar as a model for “students.” These bass guitars had either 30 inch or 34 inch necks.

Fender Performer Bass – Only produced during 1985, this bass guitar had four strings and a very slender 34-inch maple neck. It was designed by John Page.

Fender Telecaster Bass – Introduced in 1967, this four-string bass guitar was essentially a reissue of the original 1951 Precision Bass (or “P Bass”). The design was changed over the years, most notably the pickguard and the single-coil pickup.

Written by bassman